By Nomusa Garikai- The trouble with people who are shallow, thick and slow is they have the propensity to make mountains out of mole-hills and thus waste not only their time and energy but that of everyone else involved.
MDC has been on the political stage for 20 years, 5 of which in the GNU, they have failed to bring about even one democratic change in all these years. Not even one!
The party had the golden chance to implement the reforms during the GNU. SADC leaders had got Mugabe and Zanu PF to agree to the democratic reforms by signing the 2008 Global Political Agreement. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends’ primary task in the 2008 to 2013 GNU was to implement the reforms. They failed to get even one reform implemented and the golden opportunity was lost.
Having failed to implement the reforms the party has changed tactic; it has been participating in elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging the elections. The narrative was if the opposition was better organised and united, it will win rigged elections.
“MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” boasted Chamisa before the July 2018 elections. Ever since the elections he has insisted on calling Mnangagwa illegitimate because he “stole the July 2018 elections!” Chamisa has conveniently forgotten that he is the one who boasted MDC would stop Zanu PF stealing the elections.
Nelson Chamisa and his MDC A, Douglas Mwonzora and his MDC-T and the rest of the opposition entourage are preparing to participate in the 2023 elections. They all know that since the July 2018 election not even one meaningful reform was implemented and therefore Zanu PF is going to once again rig those elections; guaranteed! No doubt, Chamisa, Mwonzora, etc. will all come out with their own Winning In Rigged Election (WIRE) strategies.
The real reason why MDC leaders have been participating in flawed and illegal elections, especially after the watershed 2008 elections when Zanu PF showed that its power to rig elections was infinite, is to win the few gravy train seats Zanu PF offered as bait. Zanu PF needs the opposition to participate to give the flawed election process so credibility and to give the result legitimacy. The opposition have found the bait irresistible.
After 41 years and counting of rigged elections it is criminal and insane to drag the nation into yet another flawed and meaningless elections.
Every Zimbabwean with half a brain should be spending all their time and energy on making sure that democratic reforms are implemented before the 2023 elections. If the elections go ahead with no reforms then the plebiscite must be declared null and void.
Every Zimbabwean with half a brain should be spending all their time and energy reminding the corrupt, incompetent and sell-out opposition that the nation is sick and tired of their deceitful WIRE strategies.
“It has come to our attention that former MDC Alliance national executive committee members Lilian Timveous and Blessing Chebundo have resigned from the party and joined the ruling party Zanu-PF,” call the statement from MDC A Harare.
“While we wish our former colleagues well at their new political home, we take umbrage at their mischievous attempts to justify their shameful actions by casting aspersions on the MDC Alliance leadership in general and the secretary-general of the party in particular.
“Allegations by former deputy national treasurer-general Timveous against secretary-general Chalton Hwende cannot pass the veracity test as the claims are outright falsehoods concocted to justify her treacherous and selfish decision to abandon the people’s struggle in order to join the Zanu-PF gravy train.”
How tragic that Morgan Tsvangirai and the rest of the MDC leadership sold out big time during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and have continued to sell-out by participating in flawed elections with tragic consequences to the whole nation. And yet, ever to this day, the majority of the MDC A members have continued to sheepish follow these corrupt and incompetent leaders oblivious of the consequences of their own folly.
The MDC members have always come to life, agitated as bees whose hive is under attack; because, this time, two-party leaders resigned! The consequences of their going, to the party worse the nation, is manicure but you would think so from the commotion in the party. This is just another MDC storm in a tea cup!
The tragedy here is the nation will be dragged into yet another flawed and meaningless election in 2023 and MDC leaders will participate and give the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy! And all because the nation cannot get MDC leaders and their members to stop wasting time on trivial matters and focus on the real important issues – implementing the reforms and ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
It is not only Zanu PF that is holding the nation to ransom; the party now has junior partners in MDC!